House and Home

There’s a longtime misconception that all walls in Florida homes ought to be white.

Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Lynn Goral, an interior designer with Baer’s Furniture, a family-owned group with 15 locations throughout Florida.

Goral emphasized that although design sensibilities here fully embrace Florida’s nickname of “The Sunshine State,” lighter colors work just as well as white in achieving a “light, airy and cheerful” ambiance.

Catherine Pliess, program coordinator for The Art Institute of Florida’s School of Design,...

There’s a longtime misconception that all walls in Florida homes ought to be white.
Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Lynn Goral, an interior designer with Baer’s Furniture, a family-owned group with 15 locations throughout...

This charity recycles happiness.
Petals With Purpose takes flower arrangements from wedding, anniversary and bar and bat mitzvah celebrations and delivers them to people who are sick, alone or troubled.
"We go to the places most in need of joy,...

When Donn Flipse's grandfather used to sell flowers, the orders came in via telegraph.
Arrangements included only what could be found in South Florida or transported by train within the country.
Now, as Flipse prepares to deliver about 5,000 floral...

It was curtains for this home decor robbery suspect.
Clerks at an Orlando area home decor store did not spare the rod when a robber, armed with a pocket knife, tried to steal money from them, deputies said, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
As the man,...

Design is becoming fashionable again.
The sprawling Dania Beach design center is once again becoming a destination for designers seeking to outfit luxurious homes in South Florida and beyond, say company executives, designers and retailers.
The...

MacKenzie-Childs Creative Director Rebecca Proctor describes herself on her Chartreuse blog as a "design fanatic, cook, baker and candlestick maker." But the whimsical woman behind one of the most sought after home decor brands in the world is...

The Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach will soon house two more high-end furniture showrooms: Versace Home and Abitare-Minotti.
Both brands are moving from the Miami Design District to DCOTA and expect to be in their new spaces by the end of...

Nonprofit
Joe Russoniello, a co-founder of Everywhere, a small business platform and consumer mobile application — and a co-founder and president and CEO of the Deerfield Beach-based marketing and branding firm Brand Tango — recently joined the board...

When the weather gets hot, your plants depend on you. "Plants need more water to survive the heat, and we can't assume the rain will provide it for them," said Doris Taylor, Plant Clinic manager at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
That includes...

First came macramé, then ceramics, indigo dying and quilting.
Los Angeles designer Paige Cleveland is revisiting another DIY craft tradition: hand-painted marbling.
In this delicate process, paints are floated in a liquid. The artist then takes...

Check out festivals and events in May across the state. This list is organized by region.
Central Florida (including Orlando, Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, Sanford, the Space Coast, Lakeland/Polk and Lake County)
April 29-May 1: Orchid Show and Sale,...

Shop for Mother's Day and soon-to-be graduates at the Jackalope Art & Craft Fair next weekend, the latest in a series of open-air markets devoted to handmade goods.
The event features more than 200 juried artisans who will set up tents in...

It would be a small wedding. Nothing gaudy or over-the-top. Maybe we'd even elope.
Admittedly, we'd only been texting for 24 hours, but I was sure this was The One.
It began at a celeb-studded non-event in Beverly Hills the evening before with a few...

California's Midcentury design legacy has an interesting way of sticking around.
An example of the style's persistent and evolving influence is receiving renewed design attention at some restaurants around town.
"Breeze blocks," are back,...

Spring is finally here again, and it's time to celebrate.
Los Angeles interior designer Frances Merrill of Reath Design says the season is all about comfort and ease — and less about perfection.
A great way to loosen up is by eschewing minimalism.
It...

Some of the world's most influential architects have designed homes for Pasadena residents. Charles and Henry Greene created the Gamble House for David and Mary Gamble in 1908, and Frank Lloyd Wright designed his first textile concrete block house, La...

Almost from the moment that the Cunninghams saw the Los Feliz home that they would eventually buy, they knew that they wouldn't use the spacious dining room for its intended purpose.
"There was a breakfast nook, which we would eat in," Vipula...